Fat burning heart rate - Please help!

[Ellie Mason]

Good morning everyone! I need some help please.
I have been reading that perhaps you should keep your heart rate a little lower than I usually do to achieve maximum fat burn. Can anyone enlighten me on this subject. Is it wise to always stay in the anaerobic state, or is it better or be at the 65-75% of maximum like I have read, and how do you figure out what your "best" heart rate for maximum fat burn would be? I am so confused.
Also, I have always worked out on my 8" step, but recently in Cathe's newest DVD's she commented that she had increased to the 8" step height. Am I working out on a step that is too high?
I would appreciate any advice that you could give me. Thank you all soooooooo much! Have a great Day!

 

[pixie9]

Hello Ellie,
People did used to believe that working at a lower intensity would burn more fat, and more weight loss would occur. This is TOTALLY a myth. It's all about how many calories you burn overall. Here's an article I found about it:

www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s1-4-88-278-4219-1,00.html

If you do a search for "fat burning zone myths" you'll find more informationa about the subject. Personally, I would never tell a client to work in their 65% or 75% or whatever %. This number is based on your age and as we all know, some people are fitter than others and so these numbers don't apply to a great deal of people. I just tell people to work in a level that they find challenging, occasionally pushing themselves for brief periods. As a side note, you cannot stay in your anaerobic state for very long. The body is not designed for that. You can actually work in a very high heart rate zone and still be in your aerobic zone. These numbers are highly individual. If I were you, I'd focus on your Perceived Exertion (on a scale from 1 to 10),specifically how YOU feel while you are exercising.

So, I guess what I'm saying is there is no "best heart rate for maximum fat burn". It's all about working out intelligently, paying attention to how you feel, and creating your own program to help you achieve your goals. IMO, you should have high intensity day, low intensity day, and yes, medium intensity days. You should ALWAYS vary your workouts and ALWAYS have strenth training as a part of your program. It's nice to be aware of your heart rate (I wear a heart rate monitor myself), but weight loss is all about the big picture, NOT your heart rate for each individual workout. It's more about diet than exercise (if you get right down to it), but of course exerise is a must.

I hope this helps.

Carolyn

 

[Ellie Mason]

Thank you so much! That was more informative and more helpful than you can imagine. I appreciate the link as well. Have a great day!